Post #241 January 18 2021 “Eight Tips for Writing Action Scenes” I’m nearing the end of the first draft of my alternate history novel The Eureka Gambit. This novel is filled with action scenes. Writing action scenes, like any writing, is an art and it can be learned. The following tips are ones found from www.nownovel.com and which I have modified to better meet what I consider to be particularly important. 1. Use short sentences. This has the effect of speeding up the reader’s following of the story. It increases tension, just like short scenes and quick cuts in a movie. And use simple sentences to keep the reader focused on what matters. 2. Mix in dialogue with your action. It’s tempting to have nothing but slam-bang paragraphs, where Tom pulverizes his adversary with punch after punch, leading to a bloody mouth and teeth flying everywhere. But consider adding some choice words from Tom, like “Now, you’re going to get it,” or having Tom respond to his adversary’s taunts like “Is that the best you can do, you panty-waist slimebucket?” A little dialogue thrown in adds to the realism and makes Tom and his adversary seem lifelike. 3. Keep the introspection to a minimum. Don’t have Tom, in the middle of swinging a punch, reflect on why, when he was eight years old, little Tommy Jacobs stole his tricycle. Who cares what Tommy Jacobs did? I want to know: did Tom land the punch and did it knock the bejeezus out of his adversary (lets called the adversary Bluto). 4. Keep the action scene short. Nothing fatigues a reader faster than page after page of non-stop action, especially when there doesn’t seem to a story-related purpose to it. Give the reader a break. Intersperse action with some other narrative, like how nice the weather was when Tom plastered Bluto against the wall. 5. Use active voice. “Tom smashed Bluto’s face,” rather than “Bluto’s face was smashed by Tom.” This gives your writing more power and immediacy. Remember, you’re not writing for Downton Abbey (unless you are). 6. Keep details of setting and other descriptions relevant. Don’t stop in the middle of the action to have Tom ruminate on the historical significance of the tree he just smashed Bluto’s face with. Say “Tom smashed his face,” and move on. 7. Keep the character’s goals and needs in mind. This one bears some detail. Tom is fighting Bluto for a reason and it had better be a reason related to the larger conflict of the story. Otherwise, it’s just Tom taking out his frustrations on Bluto for no apparent reason. Ideally, the conflict between Tom and Bluto has grown and become so inflamed that conflict between them seems inevitable, until it finally bursts forth. This helps with creating and sustaining tension as well. You can even vary this a bit, by having Tom take more than a little abuse from Bluto before finally lashing out and deciding to end this standoff once and for all. Tom wants or needs something and Bluto’s standing in the way. This is the essence of story conflict. 8. Describe action using gestures, movements, noises, and other elements pertinent to the action. Like any writing, use words as needed and don’t add superfluous words that don’t contribute to the action. More importantly, engage all the senses: taste, smell, sound, as well as the physical experience of burying a fist in Bluto’s face. This adds to the realism and gives your action scene more power and more punch (sorry), especially if you’ve sketched Tom sympathetically so that the reader really feels his anger. Writing action scenes can be learned and practiced. Done poorly, action scenes add nothing to a story and like some James Bond movies, become gratuitous and even wearying. But done well, they contribute to the reader’s understanding of your protagonist and his sympathy for the protagonist’s cause. The reader will feel “Hey, I would have done the same thing as Tom. That could have been me.” Once your readers start doing that, they’re hooked. The next post to The Word Shed comes on January 25, 2021. See you then. Phil B.